


A King and a God

by ideallyqualia



Series: Rare Pairs [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Comedy, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 19:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3179621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geniuses are hard to understand, but they should at least be able to understand each other, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A King and a God

**Author's Note:**

> This follows the canon plot, so if you haven't read past the events from the anime, then I suggest you don't read this (unless you don't care about spoilers). If you've read past the tokyo training camp arc (to chapter 97 in the manga), then you're fine.
> 
> Anyway…here, nonexistent ship. Please fill tumblr tag with kagenoya now. I need this ship. And remember, Kageyama [admiring him](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7SS4BmCQAEUzmr.png) is [canon](https://41.media.tumblr.com/7b4a56cf252e92578014a10f38525aa0/tumblr_ni8mbkbwSR1u57mk6o1_500.png) I wouldn't lie about this I read the [manga](https://41.media.tumblr.com/479e25d0b748882febd67cb0d53b92d0/tumblr_ni8mltHyUa1u57mk6o1_1280.png) too much to not notice

Nishinoya was thrilled to hear that someone wanted to learn receives from him. That didn't mean that he wanted to actually join the team, of course; he was just being nice. He couldn't turn away from an aspiring ace that suffered through the same height jokes that he did. 

When someone tossed a ball to him, he stopped it with his arms and sent it back in the air, explaining as he did. Returning a simple toss like this was easy, but he knew that he had to begin with something straightforward for Hinata. 

Hinata and a couple other first years stared back at him blankly.

"…Eh?" Hinata scratched his head. "Can you do that again?" 

He nodded and threw the ball back to Suga, undeterred by their confusion. "I'll try to talk slower."

Tanaka sighed. "No one's going to understand that, Noya."

Kageyama lowered his water bottle. "Really? But I did."

Nishinoya swiveled to him. "Oh? You did? Then why don't they get it?" He waved a hand at the now-snickering first years.

"Now that I think about it, no one ever understands your explanations either!" Tanaka jabbed a finger into Kageyama's shoulder. "It's just a bunch of useless gibberish!"

Kageyama turned to him with his mouth opening slowly. "Huh?"

"It must be nice to be a genius," Hinata muttered, glancing between them. Nishinoya perked up when he noticed Hinata looking at him.

"Genius? Me?" He shook his head and flailed his hands around. "I barely pass my classes."

"I was talking mainly about Kageyama…" Hinata frowned and turned to him. "Are you good at school, Kageyama?"

"No." 

"What a shocker," Tsukishima coughed into his hand. 

"What the hell did you just say?" Kageyama lunged forward and gritted his teeth. Tsukishima did nothing but watch.

"Kitagawa Daiichi, huh..." Nishinoya tapped a finger against his chin, tilting his head up thoughtfully. "Looks like some amazing first years have joined, Ryuu."

"Oh, just wait until you see Hinata's quick!" Tanaka spread his hand out into the air and grabbed Nishinoya's shoulders with the other. "It's freaky. Like a real crow."

"If it's as amazing as that first year's serve, then I'd believe that!" Nishinoya smiled in expectation. It fell after a moment, and he wrinkled his eyebrows together. "By the way, what was his name again? That first year with the serve?"

"Kageyama Tobio. And the blond is Tsukishima Kei. That boy next to him is Yamaguchi Tadashi." Tanaka leaned closer. "But I should warn you… Kageyama has a terrible temper. He's rude all the time, especially to Hinata."

"Rude?" Nishinoya glanced back at the first years, seeing Kageyama scoffing and picking up a volleyball. Tsukishima said something sarcastic, but Kageyama ignored him, gripping the ball with more force. "He wasn't rude to me."

Tanaka snorted. "Just wait."

 

* * *

 

Kageyama was more silent with Nishinoya than anything. He practiced serving to him without complaining, keen on observing his receives after a volleyball was thrown. Nishinoya thought he heard Kageyama mumble something to himself once in a while, but he wasn't sure.  

He didn't quite glare at him, either. Kageyama stared hard, wearing attentive frowns as if he was chastising himself. He saved any actual complaints or insults for the other first years, and occasionally snapped at even Daichi and Tanaka. He lacked true malevolence, but it was still annoying.

After Nishinoya officially rejoined the team, Tanaka elbowed him in the rib and gestured to Kageyama with his chin. "So? Didn't I tell you that he's mean?"

Nishinoya shot him a baffled look. "No? He barely even talks to me."

"He is definitely mean." Tanaka caught Hinata's shirt as the spiker walked by, and he dragged him into their conversation. "Don't you think Kageyama's mean?"

Hinata was trying to protest and walk away, but he straightened at that, raising his hand into the air. "He's an asshole!" 

"Yeah!" Tanaka and Hinata gave each other a high five. 

"Kageyama has never been rude to me. At all." Nishinoya looked around them to peer at the setter. He was currently aiming a serve at a water bottle, practicing by himself.

"That's weird." Hinata crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. "You  _have_ seen him shove people around, though, right?"

"Kind of?" Nishinoya tilted his head. "It's really just been you that he bothers."

Hinata stretched his arms down his sides and grunted. "It's not just me! He's a jerk. Through and through."

Nishinoya shrugged. "Sure. Okay." He patted Hinata on the shoulder and walked away from them.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya found it hard to believe that Rolling Thunder was embarrassing. It was praise-worthy in every way he could think of. People like Tsukishima and Tanaka just didn't have an eye for this kind of thing.

"The name's ridiculous," Tsukishima said. Nishinoya had done Rolling Thunder twice in today's practice, and each time, the blond spiker snickered. Even Tanaka agreed with him, nodding and clutching his stomach.

Hinata had asked him to teach it to him again, as usual, but Nishinoya was starting to feel as if his standards were pretty low. He got fired up over anything, even boring movies without any action. Nishinoya was enthused about plenty of things as well, but that was where he drew the line. Having Hinata be his only fan for his special move was disheartening.

He stomped his feet and turned to glance at their genius setter. Every time he did the loud receive, he noticed Kageyama staring with wide, curious eyes. Kageyama never made fun of him about it, but he never congratulated him on it, either. The only time Kageyama talked to him about it was when he asked if the shouting was necessary, sounding a bit concerned.

Today was no different. Kageyama paused in his personal practice to watch, and he was still in that stance, holding a volleyball but paying it no attention.

Nishinoya walked up to him, determined to make him say  _some_ kind of opinion. "Kageyama. What'd you think of that receive?"

Tanaka whirled his head around. He waved his hands at Nishinoya and shook his head, afraid for his friend's life.

Kageyama shrugged. "It stopped the serve perfectly."

"What?" Nishinoya's mouth fell open. By now, he'd seen Kageyama being hostile to all kinds of people. He expected to be subjected to that eventually, and this had been the perfect chance for Kageyama to tease him. Everyone else already had, so even if he felt guilty, it could be played off as just joining in. Yet that didn't happen.

"Are you feeling okay?" Hinata poked him in his back. 

Kageyama span around and shoved him.

"He pushed Hinata for no reason, but did nothing to you? That's…odd…" Suga said. He gave an uneasy smile, looking at Hinata and Kageyama shove each other. The two somehow ended up a few feet away from them in the scuffle. "Well, he  _did_ do something, he complimented you."

"Ooh, a compliment, how terrible!" Tanaka waved a hand. "Kageyama giving compliments like that is just creepy."

"Is it really?" 

"I wouldn't say  _creepy_ ," Suga said, eyeing Tanaka as he spoke, "but it is strange. Maybe he just admires you? The both of you are really talented, after all."

Nishinoya straightened his jacket with his nose in the air. "Can't argue with that."

"Just be careful, Noya. Wouldn't want you to get your hand bitten off or something." Tanaka shook his head with a sad, slow motion, and Nishinoya slapped his shoulder.

"I'm a very likable person, thanks."

 

* * *

 

After the next practice, Nishinoya accidentally bumped the volleyball cart into Kageyama, not noticing him passing by. Tanaka and Nishinoya were shoving the cart between them for no real reason, and it skidded away when they pushed it wrong, slamming into Kageyama's stomach. 

"Oh, crap," Tanaka said. He swiveled and ducked behind Nishinoya. "Noya, apologize."

"Why me, you coward?!"

Kageyama took a look at them, raising an eyebrow in placid interest, despite the hand clutching his stomach. "What are you two doing?"

Tanaka gripped Nishinoya's shoulders, pushing him forward a step. "Please take this humble offering."

Nishinoya struggled and kicked at him, snapping that his size did  _not_ make him a sacrificial candidate.

Kageyama just watched for a minute. His eyes followed their arms as they swung at each other, and when they stopped, they noticed that he had already turned away to Daichi and Suga.

Tanaka twisted his mouth into a suspicious frown. "Did he just leave? He didn't get mad?"

Nishinoya shrugged. "I guess not."

He tried to walk away as well, but Tanaka grabbed his collar, dragging him back into place.

"Noya,  _why_. Why is he nice to you?"

"Nice? He ignores me."

"No, that's  _nice._ " Tanaka let go and sighed. "What'd you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

Hinata walked up to them when he realized what they were talking about, noticing them both looking at Kageyama. He raised his head in interest and spoke up. "Why don't you try being mean to him, Nishinoya?"

Tanaka spun to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hinata, that's  _brilliant._ Noya, do it."

Nishinoya's mouth quirked in distaste. "No! I'm not cruel."

"But Kageyama  _is,_ " Hinata complained. "It's just fair."

"I can't be mean for no reason. That's so…mean." Nishinoya crossed his arms and turned his head away. "I'm not going to do it."

"Oh, come on! I want to see that!" Hinata clasped his hands together in the air. He ducked his head around to face Nishinoya. "You don't even have to be mean! Just…mispronounce his name, or bump into him, or something."

Tanaka snapped and pointed at Hinata immediately. "Yeah. Do that. I like that."

"No." Nishinoya walked away from them, shaking his head as he picked up his sports bag. 

They were being ridiculous. Being an asshole to Kageyama was probably what got him to be an asshole back to them in the first place. Kageyama was nice to Suga, after all, so he wasn't an indiscriminate asshole. He had to have some kind of filter on that. 

Still, Nishinoya wondered what  _would_ happen if he did something. On accident. Kageyama was terrifying sometimes, so he didn't want to actually get on his bad side, but the thought was amusing at least. Kageyama always had a sharp glower on his face, so seeing him jolting in surprise had  _some_ entertainment value.

It just wasn't worth it.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya doomed himself the moment he let himself think about it. A few days later, when he was turning the idea over in his head again--not to actually do anything, just wishing he could figure out how to do something without being a jerk--he walked around a corner to the vending machine and slammed into Kageyama. The force of it wasn't enough to send either of them falling, but Nishinoya stared up in horror anyway. He saw Hinata do something simliar the other day, running into his chest with some speed, and Kageyama sent the orange spiker fleeing after a smack to the head. 

Kageyama blinked down at him. "Sorry, my bad." He took a step around and kept going, leaving Nishinoya standing still and blank. A few moments later, Hinata trailed in his wake.

"Nishinoya, I didn't think you were going to do it! And that sounded like it  _hurt!_ " He clapped his hands together.

"I didn't do it on purpose! Don't sound so happy." Nishinoya rubbed his chest. "And that probably hurt me more than him. Ow."

"He wasn't mad, though. He even blamed himself." Hinata bowed his head, eyes wide in awe. "That's amazing, senpai."

"That's not something to be proud of. Get your priorities straight, Shouyou." He lowered a loose fist onto Hinata's head, making him yelp.

A few minutes later, when Nishinoya was back in the classroom for lunch and talking to Tanaka, he told him Kageyama's reaction to the accident.

"Oh man, that's great, Noya. You should do it again."

" _No._ "

Tanaka flattened his hands on the table and leaned over. "You've got to. Don't you want to see how far you can go until you actually make him mad?"

Nishinoya pressed a hand to his forehead. "Not really…"

Tanaka ended up writing a list of things to try, managing to pencil in every terrible idea he had despite Nishinoya reaching over the table and trying to hit him. Some of the things were tame, such as going out of his way to bump shoulders with him or spelling his name wrong, but there were others that Nishinoya  _knew_ would irritate him. He was adamant in his stance against making fun of his voice, calling him Tobio, and tying his shoes together.

"You call almost everyone by their first names, though," Tanaka said when he pointed at the Tobio part. "You have an excuse with that one."

"I don't care."

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya  _hated_ Tanaka. He really, truly hated him in that moment. He was standing right in front of Kageyama in practice, about to tell him something, when he let it slip. 

_Tobio._

The both of them froze. Nishinoya's mouth remained open in shock, his face going pale, and Kageyama's shoulders grew tense. Tanaka was standing close enough to hear, and he started cackling. He slid to the floor on his knees, bent over and gasping for air. The rest of the team missed the exchange, but Hinata looked as if he wanted to laugh just from the sight of the three of them.

After practice, Nishinoya stomped up to Tanaka. "You  _turd."_

_"_ What did I do?"

"You…" He scoffed. "If it wasn't for your dumb list, then I never would have thought to do it. It was a goddamn accident, and I couldn't stop myself."

Tanaka was grinning at that. "That's what you get for saying no."

"Go to hell, you traitor."

Tanaka gave a self-satisfied shrug. "I didn't force you to do it."

 

* * *

 

Tanaka was right, though. He didn't force Nishinoya into walking into Kageyama, or calling him by his first name. And he didn't grab Nishinoya's arm when Nishinoya tried to toss a water bottle to Hinata today, missing and nailing Kageyama in the back.

Kageyama spun around with a glare, about to growl something, but he clacked his mouth shut when he was met with Nishinoya's owlish eyes. At his softening expression, Nishinoya fidgeted with his hands, clueless about why Kageyama looked like _he_ had been the one to chuck a bottle at someone.

"Oooh," Hinata said under his breath. He leaned forward in anticipation, deflating when Kageyama walked away uneventfully.

"Alright, Noya, what." Tanaka tilted his head.

"You're my hero, Nishinoya senpai."

"Shut up. Please." Nishinoya scratched his head and ducked away.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya didn't know how it happened, but he became a clumsy magnet. He didn't have painful accidents that often, but lately, he was slowly beating Kageyama up and embarrassing himself in the process. He opened doors in Kageyama's face, stuck his foot out in stretching while Kageyama walked by, and the one time he slipped (which he never, ever did), he crashed right into Kageyama. 

"Hey, can you send a ball into Kageyama's head next?" Tsukishima asked him. He was snickering under his hand, and Nishinoya couldn't tell if he was making fun of Kageyama or him.

"I don't take  _requests_!"

"How about commissions?"

"Tsukishima, stop it," Suga said while laughing. He looked apologetic, but he wasn't trying to hide the laughter.

Nishinoya buried his face in his arm. He didn't mind becoming a joke, but it was mortifying bringing an innocent first year into it, even if Kageyama  _was_ an uncooperative teammate sometimes.

Except he wasn't. At least, not nearly as much as he had been. Nishinoya didn't have a reason to interact with him on the court, since liberos didn't switch with setters and couldn't spike tosses, but he could tell that Kageyama's teamwork was improving. He seemed like he was becoming more honest, somehow, and at this point Nishinoya also felt like he was a surprisingly forgiving person. The contrast of that with the rest of his personality was also disturbing, though, just a little.

Nishinoya kicked at a volleyball lying on the floor, groaning to himself. The ball ricocheted off the wall and collided with a loud thud, and at the immediate anguished grunt, Nishinoya put his face in his hands, knowing without looking that he just hit Kageyama. The whole team began to laugh, even Daichi, and Nishinoya groaned harder into his hands. 

Kageyama just rubbed his shoulder and gave a strained sigh.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya was grateful that none of that stuff happened when they had important concerns to deal with. Losing to Seijou in the Inter High tournament was bad enough, and right now the entire team was down. Especially Kageyama. And he would have  _hated_ to accidentally hit him again right now, that would just be unforgivable.

Nishinoya was upset over losing, too, but the one thing that stuck out to him from the match was Seijou's libero making a toss. He thought about that for days, how difficult it was to dance around the rules just for the sake of one point. After doing the trick once, it lost its novelty, and it seemed like it'd take an awful lot of training and commitment to pull off, but…Nishinoya thought he'd like to try it.

He had to learn how to do an ordinary toss, though. The basics. He started off just watching Kageyama, noting the way his hands caught the ball from a receive and pushed it up in the air. After a while, he started to notice in the difference in precision between Kageyama and Suga, even if they looked like they were doing the same motions.

In the middle of one practice, he was thinking this over while holding a volleyball in his hands, tapping his fingers on it. Kageyama could already do attacks outside of his own position, like spikes. There was no way Suga could do that, he--

"Nishinoya? Nishinoya, can I have that ball?" Hinata asked. When he didn't get a response, he shrugged and reached for it.

Having Hinata suddenly in his face, his arm brushing Nishinoya's, made Nishinoya jerk and throw the ball up in surprise. It fell in an arc and lobbed into Kageyama's forehead, the momentum driving him sideways into the wall.

Hinata raised an arm. "Nishinoya did it!"

Tsukishima walked by, lifting his hand to the side of his mouth so he could say to Nishinoya, "Thanks."

Kageyama sent a dull glare to Hinata. He trudged up with a fist clenched, his other hand clutching his forehead. "That was your fault, you clumsy bastard."

Hinata bristled. "I barely did anything!"

"You scared him, stupid."

"Why didn't you just  _dodge the ball_?"

"This is more than I could have asked for," Tanaka said as he walked up to them, laughing beside Tsukishima. "Kageyama's mad, and it isn't even at Nishinoya."

"I love how Kageyama ignored what he just saw to blame someone else," Tsukishima said with a snicker. "That's stupid."

"He called  _Hinata_ the clumsy one!" Tanaka slapped Tsukishima on the back, causing him to cough.

Nishinoya watched with guilty relief. It was obvious now that Kageyama was going out of his way to not scold Nishinoya, but it was at the expense of other people. Hinata was now cowering and running away, squeaking when Kageyama raised his voice. Nishinoya almost felt bad.

But then again, Hinata had asked Nishinoya to annoy Kageyama in the first place. This was only fair.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya didn't think he was taking this that far, but Kageyama picked up on something after a few practices. He walked over to Nishinoya in the middle of cleaning the gym, his eyebrows creased in confusion.

"You've been watching me a lot, lately." 

"What?" The mop in Nishinoya's hand fell over, his hands still in the air. He didn't actually want to tell anyone what he was trying; he wanted it to be a surprise. And also never tell the team in case it turned into a disaster. It sounded like the kind of embarrassing thing that Tsukishima would spin into a long suffering joke.

"He's right. You've been kind of looking at Kageyama often these past few days." Tanaka leaned closer. "Are you trying to creep him out?"

Nishinoya rolled his eyes as he reached down for the mop. "No. To both. I'm not being weirder than normal."

Tanaka shrugged and walked away, but Kageyama stepped closer with a tighter frown. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Nope. Why would you think that?"

"Why else would you look at me so much?"

Nishinoya lifted his head. "Tobi--Kageyama, I'm not a setter. How should I know anything about what you're doing?"

Nishinoya mentally groaned to himself. He should just avoid saying his name altogether. 

"Then...why  _are_ you--"

"I'm done, Suga!" Nishinoya dragged the mop across the floor, stepping away from Kageyama as soon as possible before he figured out Nishinoya's plan. He didn't hear Kageyama's footsteps, so he relaxed his shoulders after he felt safe, glad he didn't hit him by accident with the wooden handle of the mop. Suga cocked an eyebrow at him as he passed, not understanding why Nishinoya had to call his name to put the mop away.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya found it impossible to watch Kageyama discretely. Sometimes Hinata yelled at Kageyama beside Nishinoya and blew his cover--even if he _was_ in plain sight. Kageyama seemed to get more and more aware of it in general, and the way he shifted his eyes around with wariness made Nishinoya feel like he was starting to bother Kageyama.

He didn't complain to Nishinoya about it, though. Kageyama tried to bring it up again with a bit of lukewarm mumbling, but Nishinoya maneuvered out of that one. Kageyama was starting to become more sheepish around him, a bit more talkative yet easy to fluster. His previous cool silence didn't give him a rude impression, but now that he wasn't as quiet as before to him, Nishinoya found him the opposite of rude. 

Right now, everyone else was too enthused about the trip to Tokyo to really notice anything different. Or at least, that's what he thought. Tanaka hadn't brought it up again until the second years were gathered at his house for studying, preparing for the upcoming final exams. Nishinoya and Tanaka were the real reasons they needed to study, although Hinata and Kageyama had their own first year study group.

"I'm so tired. Can we take a break?" Nishinoya asked. He leaned back on his hands.

Ennoshita opened his mouth to stop him, but everyone else was already pushing their notebooks away and reaching for the pile of snacks on the table. He sighed and let them.

"Well, we're making good progress, anyway," Tanaka said. 

Ennoshita picked up Nishinoya's notebook and snapped it in the air. "You two  _would_ be, if you'd stop doing things like this on purpose."

"What's wrong with that?" 

"Nishinoya, you wrote 'Live a manlier life, Norio.' That's not even close to what was being asked!" Ennoshita hit him on the head with it and threw it at him.

"I hope the first years are doing better," Kinoshita said. "They sounded like they were even worse off than you two." 

"Worse than us..." Tanaka ripped open a bag of chips and bit into one. "You reminded me of something, though. Doesn't Kageyama seem weirder lately?"

"Weirder how?" Nishinoya asked. "He's the same, isn't he?"

The four of them turned their heads at him with raised eyebrows.

"No?" Narita asked.

"He's been fidgety and stuff." Tanaka tapped a finger against his chin. "That sounds like…"

Nishinoya leaned forward. "Like?"

"It sounds like a crush," Kinoshita finished for him. "Not as insane as the way you two act with Shimizu, but--"

"No  _way_ does Kageyama have a crush on someone--" Narita interrupted.

"Stop gossiping about people." Ennoshita yanked a cookie plate out of Nishinoya's hands and slid it away. "And stop eating all the food. This has to last all day, you know."

Nishinoya yelped and reached back for it, climbing over Ennoshita as he pushed it further away with his foot. Nishinoya clambered completely over him and picked up another cookie anyway, chewing happily even though Ennoshita shoved him to the side.

"If he likes someone, then why doesn't he come to us? We know lots about girls!" Tanaka slammed a hand onto the table, but he swiveled his head at Kinoshita when he heard snickering.

"Why do you sound offended? It might not even be true." Kinoshita tried to straighten his face, but he kept on snorting.

"Ennoshita,  _please_  gossip with us," Tanaka said after he elbowed Kinoshita. "You're kind of good at this stuff, right? You can tell if something's up."

Before Ennoshita could open his mouth, Nishinoya piped up, "Good at what? Are you saying he has a girlfriend no one knows about?"

Ennoshita narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't going to say anything, but since you won't shut up, Nishinoya, I think I  _will_ say something _."_

"…What?" 

Tanaka and Narita wriggled on the floor and bent their heads closer. 

"What is it?"

"You mean you're actually going to say something?"

"I think," he said slowly, "that Kageyama started acting this way because of Nishinoya. Ever since Nishinoya started to…hit him? Throw things at him? Whatever he's been doing, that's what I think it is."

Nishinoya stiffened. "Me? What?"

"But what does that  _mean_ ," Tanaka said. 

Ennoshita shrugged and pulled his notebook back. "Look at that however you want."

"You think that Kageyama has a crush on  _him_?" Tanaka hooked a thumb in Nishinoya's direction. 

"That's not what I said."

"Maybe Kageyama's afraid of him now," Narita said. "I mean, Nishinoya is probably hurting him."

"Then why doesn't he run away?" Tanaka asked.

"Because he's not that smart. Why else are his grades in trouble?"

"Kinoshita, that's pretty rude."

"Okay, I am  _not_ hurting him or doing it on purpose or whatever else you guys are dumb enough to think up," Nishinoya snapped. 

They ignored him, making him bristle as his words rung in the air.

"You guys are completely forgetting how Kageyama's just letting it happen. He even yells at Hinata instead of Noya." Tanaka pushed a hand in Nishinoya's face to silence his whining, despite his flailing arms.

"Kageyama  _has_ been less angry lately. I think." Narita pulled his legs up as Nishinoya fell on the floor.

"I've noticed it for a while now, too. Kageyama never gets mad at him, at all. I barely talk to Kageyama, and he practically growls at me."

Ennoshita was staring at them with sleepy irritated eyes, but he gave in and nodded at them silently. He looked back at a piece of paper and pressed his pencil down.

Nishinoya sat up from the floor. "I don't really understand what you guys are trying to say."

The door creaked open, and Saeko's head poked out, drawing everyone's heads to the open door. "You're studying? Are you guys feeling alright?"

"We're barely studying," Ennoshita said with a sigh.

Tanaka shot up to his feet, and the gleeful expression on him made Nishinoya want to squirm.

"Guess what we just found out!" Tanaka raised a hand to his mouth and whispered, "Someone has a crush on Noya."

"Really?" She crouched down and patted him on the back. "Way to go, Yuu!"

Nishinoya shrugged her hand off and glared up at Tanaka. "No, your brother's making it up."

"No, we all agree," Narita added.

"No we  _don't_."

Saeko clapped him on the shoulder and got back up. "There's no need to be modest, Yuu. It's about time you've been noticed for the cool stud you are."

"Yeah, by  _Kageyama_ ," Kinoshita said, and everyone except Nishinoya and Saeko burst into laughter.

"…Who?" Saeko asked.

"A hostile first year that no one gets along with. It just…sounds so ridiculous…" Tanaka wiped at an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye as he laughed. 

"It's not true, and I hate you all." Nishinoya crossed his arms and sunk into the floor.

 

* * *

 

The second years were much more aware of Kageyama and Nishinoya's interactions in the next practice. They saw each time Nishinoya accidentally tripped him or swung his arms and hit him without noticing him nearby. His receives never did anything since they never went wayward anyway, handled with too much skill to hurt anyone, but nothing else was safe.

No one was safe, either. 

Nishinoya collided with Hinata when they were doing laps around the court, the both of them turning a corner too sharply and bumping into each other. Hinata bounced off of Nishinoya and fell backward, knocking Kageyama on the floor with them. The whole team braked and ran back to them, hovering over the three of them rubbing their heads and arms.

"The curse is getting stronger, it's hurting other people," Tanaka whispered to Ennoshita, earning himself a jab to the shoulder.

Kageyama kicked Hinata off of him and slid away. None of them were injured, but that didn't stop Kageyama from snarling at Hinata and giving another useless insult.

"You clumsy dumbass, get out of the way next time."

Hinata gestured up to Nishinoya with an open mouth. " _How?_ He ran into  _me_!"

"He's right," Suga said. "That was Nishinoya's fault."

"...Thanks, Suga."

Kageyama's shoulders tensed up as some of their teammates laughed and chuckled with their heads turned away. He tipped his head down, and the pink embarrassment on his face left Tanaka and Ennoshita glancing at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Noya, he really has a crush on you," Tanaka told him after practice. He gave a quick belated glance around before continuing. "Ennoshita and I saw."

"Saw what?" Nishinoya looked around as well, but they were already outside, with some of the other members straggling behind in the gym. Ennoshita and the other second years were still there.

"We saw him  _blush_." Tanaka gave a sympathetic tap on the shoulder. "Good luck with that."

"What do you mean, good luck? He doesn't have a crush on me."

"Oh, Noya. Don't make this harder on yourself." Tanaka shook his head with a mock sniffle. "When are you going to break the bad news to him?"

"Yes, I'm going to give an imaginary rejection to an imaginary crush." 

"I'm serious. He actually, really likes you. Are you stupid? Don't answer that," Tanaka added when Nishinoya opened his mouth. "Just, look harder or something if you don't believe me. But it's definitely there."

Nishinoya frowned at him, his face wrinkling up in thought. He didn't believe Tanaka, but if that's how they saw it, then he had to do  _something_. He couldn't let them keep going on and on about this.

 

* * *

 

He didn't have to change much about his routine. It wasn't easy watching him for something other than volleyball technique, and he kept getting sucked into noticing his tosses, but once in a while he looked directly at his face. 

Kageyama looked normal on the court. In between exercises, though, Kageyama knocked his hands against each other nervously, shuffling his feet and stringing words together in more mumbles than snarls. That was strange enough already, and with his vigilance he saw that other people were eyeing Kageyama's subdued reactions to their comments.

It was after Nishinoya pieced together some of it that he realized  _when_ Kageyama was acting funny. That only happened around him. Kageyama glanced at him for a few seconds before jerking away, but if Nishinoya was close enough, then Kageyama would fidget too. He socked Hinata when he mentioned it, and that made Suga's jaw snap shut as if he was planning on saying something too. 

Kageyama didn't really blush. He bit his lip and sharpened his glare, just looking uneasy. It was hard to tell when everyone in the gym was warm from sweat, though. 

Nishinoya was still staring, the second years looking out of the corners of their eyes between them, and he didn't think he was doing anything weird either until Tanaka nudged his shoulder.

"I know you're trying to check, but Noya, I think you're making it worse," he whispered. "Haven't you noticed by now?"

Nishinoya didn't know what to make of it, really. Kageyama, red and embarrassed because of him? It was probably just Kageyama uncomfortable with him observing his tosses.

"Even if I have, did you think I'd believe it? That's not what's going on, Tanaka." Nishinoya pushed him away with a scoff.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya still practiced his tosses in secret. He was considering trying it with Asahi when he got the chance, but he wasn't ready for that yet. He didn't want to trouble Asahi with terrible tosses and make him apologize for being unable to spike them. That's definitely what Asahi would do. 

He heard from Hinata that Kageyama sometimes practiced volleyball during lunch, just the two of them or even by himself, so he knew he could practice without outside help for a bit if Kageyama did it. Nishinoya didn't do that during his own lunch, since Tanaka would notice, but he tossed the ball in the air in his backyard. 

Nishinoya still didn't know how to aim well, but imagining Asahi or Hinata spiking it shouldn't be difficult, right? Just make it higher for one than the other? He was tempted to try spiking it himself somehow, but that would be too ambitious, even for him. He ended up leaving his tosses alone.

He took a break today, sitting down with a frustrated huff, the volleyball in his lap. It was hard to tell if he was doing a good job or not. Kageyama made it seem too flawless. Kageyama's arms went through every part of a toss so accurately, useless movements cut out the same way he made succinct conversation (or used to, anyway). Nishinoya had already seen him toss countless times, but he could barely memorize kanji for exams, and memorizing how someone's arms moved was stupid. And weird. As bad as Kageyama doing whatever he'd been doing.

As bad as-- 

...

What  _was_ he doing? Kageyama wasn't doing much, but apparently that was enough to make the second years think something else was going on. He practiced the same, just with more pained grimaces and bruises. Kageyama didn't flinch in fear, which Hinata still did when Kageyama turned to him with a glare, so that wasn't the issue. If Kageyama was going to be so twitchy about talking to him, then why? Didn't he survive a year of  _Oikawa_ , of all people, criticizing him in middle school or something?

Kageyama having feelings for him was still unbelievable, but he didn't understand why that was the most unbelievable thing to him.

 

* * *

 

Ever since Hinata intercepted Asahi's spike in the middle of a practice match, Kageyama had been tiptoeing around Hinata in terse silence. The real training camp with Nekoma and Fukurodani was coming up, and with the two of them in a long fight, the whole team went into a temporary split. 

It was miserable for everyone, but at the same time, it was the perfect chance to ask Asahi to spike his tosses. Everyone went their separate ways during the scheduled practice time, so when he saw Asahi serving by himself in the gym, Nishinoya sprinted in. He interrupted a serve with his own receive, not really thinking about the ball coming towards him until his arms went up and felt it thud.

"Asahi! D'you have a minute?!"

Asahi was startled from his sudden appearance, but after a moment, he sighed. "Sure thing. What do you need?"

Nishinoya jabbed a finger in his chest excitedly, his words slurring together a little. "How 'bout you hit my toss?"

"Sure, I can--Wait, that's… _what_?"

Nishinoya nodded. "I wanna try tossing! I'll help you out with your serving, too! Just help me with tosses!"

Asahi's surprise disappeared, almost to Nishinoya's disappointment, and he smiled at him. "Sounds good. Let's--"

"Yes yes yes!" Nishinoya grabbed his hands and shook them, jostling Asahi's arms as he hopped on his feet. "Thank you!" He ran up to the volleyball on the floor and picked it up, spinning it in his hands.

"Why do you want to try it now? Is it because of that libero from Seijou?"

Nishinoya almost forgot about him. He was the one that gave him the idea, but he got so lost in Kageyama's tosses that the libero escaped his mind.

"Oh yeah, him. That guy." Nishinoya shrugged. "Probably. But now I just want to try because I want to."

Asahi cocked an eyebrow. "Is it because of Kageyama?"

"Kageyama? What?" Nishinoya's head perked up. "He's not here, right?"

"Um, no." Asahi shook his head. "Forget it. Let's practice."

 

* * *

 

After two weeks, Nishinoya learned that his overhand tosses sucked. Asahi was too nice about it, but Nishinoya could tell that he was having some trouble with it, even if he was impressed by the fact that Nishinoya could do a basic toss. He asked about Kageyama again, for some reason, asking if Kageyama was teaching him. 

That brought up a good point. He should ask Suga for help if it looked like he had potential. When everyone was preparing for another split practice, Nishinoya approached him, grimacing from the memory of his tosses.

Suga grinned. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Why not?" Nishinoya peered up at him. "Practice" started, and he was standing a few feet away from Suga on the gym floor.

"Asahi told me that you're trying it, but even I can tell that you've been practicing it for a while now." Suga threw the volleyball in the air, watching Nishinoya give an experimental leap for the toss. His natural talent drove him into a good position, but he still ended up with a weak toss.

Nishinoya landed with a scowl. "Throw it to me again."

Suga walked up to the ball and lifted it, turning it over in his hands. "Try to aim higher."

They repeated it a few more times. After each bit of advice, Nishinoya went overboard, putting too much force after Suga told him to make it stronger, or moving his arms too far apart after he had his stance too tight.

"I think you should take a break," Daichi said from the side. Nishinoya spun his head around.

"Daichi, I forgot you were there!" Nishinoya darted to him, leaving Suga to sigh and drop the ball on the floor. 

"I've only been watching for a few minutes."

Daichi and Tanaka were both standing with their arms crossed, but Tanaka's mouth was open in awe.

"That's awesome, Noya! When'd you learn how to do that?" He clapped Nishinoya on the shoulder. The two of them grinned at each other, but Tanaka slipped into silence after a moment. "Wait, did Kageyama teach you?"

"Nope. I learned just from watching."

"Watching who? Kageyama?" Daichi asked. "Is that why you two have been acting oddly?"

"We have  _not_." Nishinoya's eyes narrowed, but he jolted when Tanaka let out a bark of laughter.

"Did he teach you how to glare, too?" 

"He didn't teach me anything, Ryuu. I  _can_ teach you how to fly out the door, though, if--"

"Nishinoya, calm down." Daichi clasped both of their shoulders with a sharp smile, and the two of them winced.

"I'm not siding with anyone, but…did you really learn from just watching Kageyama?" Suga asked. Daichi removed his hands from them, and Nishinoya took a step from him right away.

"Yeah. I've been practicing on my own." He rubbed his neck with a sheepish quirk in his mouth. "I didn't want to tell anyone for a while."

"Well, if that's why you've been weird the past few weeks, then it makes sense," Tanaka said. "But what about Kageyama? He doesn't know either, right?"

"No. What do you mean, though? What about him?" Nishinoya turned to Suga and Daichi, but they glanced away and feebly whistled to themselves.  

"Daichi and Suga kind of agree with me. Kageyama has a crush on you, Noya." Tanaka wore a smug smirk as their captains stumbled in their whistling.

"That's not what  _we_ said, but…" Suga trailed off. "We're not denying it."

Nishinoya spluttered under his hand, forcing himself into a laugh. "I can't believe everyone decided to agree on the same thing."

"It wasn't a decision," Daichi said. Suga kept looking away, but his whistling became hollow air. "It's not a joke, and we're serious. We think Kageyama has feelings for you."

The problem with someone like Daichi saying those words was that there was very little chance that it was a joke. Daichi had a disciplined brand of cruel, and that wasn't it. What  _was_ in his alley was scolding him for not believing what he said.

"If you think so, then…" Nishinoya slapped his hands over his face. "Then…it's true…"

"What, you believe him and not me?" Tanaka asked. 

"Yes," everyone else said at once. Nishinoya said it in a mechanical response, but he was still reeling from Daichi's comment. 

He lowered himself on the floor and sat down. "I'm going to need a minute."

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya never actually finished that practice. He stayed on the ground until it ended, bristling when Tanaka passed by with a snicker. He left still thinking about it, glossing over it repeatedly instead of giving it deep thought. He didn't do that until he was home.

His phone buzzed from what he assumed were a bunch of messages from Tanaka, and he kicked it off his bed. Tanaka was probably laughing his head off. All of the second years, even.

_Now_ Nishinoya was red faced. First person to like him, and it was Kageyama. He didn't know what he thought about that. He spent weeks observing him, and he didn't even know. He fixated more on his hands than his face, which…is something that should never be said out loud. 

Nishinoya fell onto his bed with a groan. 

 

* * *

 

The split team practices continued up until the start of training camp. And with Hinata and Kageyama barely speaking to each other, the entire team had a rough time coordinating attacks. Even if they had improved on their own, it felt like a scramble to thread it all together.

Nishinoya tried to cover for Suga and set a toss in one match, but he leapt too far, completely missing the ball. He stomped away with a mutter, heating up in shame. He didn't think that one through. No one else was prepared to handle the toss, but he wasn't, either, just jumping with his mind still stuck on earth.

When he turned around, Kageyama was staring at him from the sideline. Jumping for the ball wasn't that obvious a sign that he was going to toss, but the sharp angle in Kageyama's eyes made him think that he noticed something. 

After the game and flying falls, Kageyama stepped up to him. Everyone was huffing from the exhausting penalty, and Nishinoya was still breathing heavily, leaning his head over. At the sight of feet in his vision, he looked up and froze.

"Kageyama?"

He heard a few teammates fall silent. Their attention made him want to hit them, since he now knew why they were watching. Nishinoya hated gossip now.

"What were you trying to do earlier?" Kageyama asked. He was tapping one foot on top of the other, his shoulders hunched up a bit. Kageyama wasn't outright avoiding his eyes, but he looked like he was glaring to the side.

Nishinoya felt his stomach sink. Or fall or swoop or crunch in on itself, however you say it, he wasn't okay. With the team doing separate practices, he hadn't seen Kageyama that much in recent days, but now he could see the fidgeting. Kageyama used gruff movements as if he was going to kick the floor any second, or he was going to run and hide. Nishinoya's throat tightened at the sight. What was with that?

"When earlier?"

"You jumped after Suga's receive. Were you going to…do a toss?"

Nishinoya's ears burned. The first toss he ever made in public, and it had to be a complete failure, in front of their star setter. He nodded anyway. "Yeah. That. That was a toss."

"Really?!" Kageyama rose on his toes. "You learned how to toss? How? When? Was--"

Daichi cleared his throat to interrupt. "The next game's starting soon."

"Oh, thank god," Nishinoya mumbled under his breath. He walked away from them and headed back to the court with a sigh in relief.

The relief wasn't really there, though. He watched Kageyama play the setter position in the next match, and if the conversation from before didn't catch his eye, seeing him move around definitely did. His guarded little quirks were gone, replaced with strong confident motions that made Nishinoya's stomach curl more. He didn't realize that Kageyama's shyness melted away on the court.

"Nishinoya? Are you alright?" Suga asked him. "You look tense."

"I feel fine." He clenched his hands around his elbows, as if it could settle the mess in his stomach by force.

It didn't. It really didn't. He couldn't un-notice Kageyama now. There were his tosses, and then there was everything else Nishinoya had completely ignored. He didn't want to think about any of it. 

After that final match of the day, Kageyama approached him again. Nishinoya could see the entire team pausing in their casual conversation, again, just for the two of them.

"Where did you learn how to toss?"

"I just watched people." Nishinoya ran a hand through his hair and took a few steps, Kageyama following him.

"Watched who?"

"You and Suga," he said, tacking Suga's name on in a hurry.

"Me?" Kageyama leaned his head forward. "You were watching me?"

"Well, there's no other setters I know..." 

Kageyama kept asking him questions as they helped clean up, most of which Nishinoya didn't understand. Kageyama was wearing an intense smile, not the one that disturbed Hinata but still uncomfortably attentive. 

What made it worse was Kageyama's height. He had to bend his head down to talk to Nishinoya, making it very obvious that he was honing in on just one person. Kageyama looked happier doing it, though, staring at him brightly and flushing. Nishinoya could see the pink dust on him now, and he felt warm and stiff and he swore he could see Kinoshita laughing quietly next to Tanaka.

After the equipment was stored for the night, Hinata skipped up to Nishinoya, pointing at Kageyama walking away. "Why does he look so happy?"

"I don't know?" 

"You look like you know, Noya-senpai."

"That's not going to work on me today. No." Nishinoya shook his head and swept his hands in the air, pushing Hinata aside. 

Nishinoya wanted to forget about it, but if the dense orange block could see it, then he was screwed. Everyone knew by now. 

"Nishinoya, you look red."

Nishinoya threw his hands up at Ennoshita's voice, shielding his face with an arm. The others had cooled off, and the ones still left in the room were looking at him.

"Yeah, well, shut up, Chikara."

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya found it hard to sleep the next few nights. He rolled up in a ball under the covers, tight and pinched, as if that could shove away the memory of Kageyama and that annoying reverent blush he had over anything volleyball. Annoying because Kageyama wasn't supposed to do that right at him, and Nishinoya wasn't supposed to think it was adorable and heart-pumping and--

He turned on his other side with a sigh. There was no escaping it. He liked Kageyama. He felt too hot and twitchy to sleep now, and that stupid defeated thought flooded him with tiny afterthoughts, like  _shouldn't you do something then?_ Which he probably _should_ do, since now he was curling up more and biting his lip and trying to not think about kissing him and failing. 

When Nishinoya woke up in the morning, he sluggishly headed to the breakfast table in a tired haze. He greeted people and yawned, and it took him half a minute to jolt awake when he heard the echo of his own words, "'morning Tobio."

Nishinoya thunked his head on the table with his eyes closed. He was sitting next to Tanaka, not Kageyama, but he didn't know if that was better or worse. Tanaka was laughing and elbowing him in the rib, jostling Nishinoya's whole body. His laughter was louder than everyone else's.

"Oh, don't worry, Noya, everyone will forget about it by the time we practice," Tanaka whispered. Nishinoya grunted and kicked him, too sleepy and hungry to manage anything else. 

He threw a volleyball when Tsukishima brought it up again, right before the start of their next game. "Does it still feel like morning to you, Tobio? Because, I have to say…"

Nishinoya chucked the ball over then, and Tsukishima almost bumped into Kageyama to dodge it. He stumbled and caught himself on his feet, but seeing the narrow miss made Nishinoya realize that he hadn't thrown anything at Kageyama or accidentally punched him in a while.

He grabbed Tanaka's shoulder. "Ryuu," he whispered, "I haven't hit him in a while. Why."

Tanaka started snickering before he could even speak. "Maybe because it's time for you to hit  _on_ hi--"

Nishinoya was awake enough to give him an actual stinging kick that time, and Tanaka kept cackling from the floor. Daichi walked by with an annoyed stare to silence him.

"We have a game to play."

"Y-yeah, right, sorry." Tanaka got to his feet still wearing a smug grin, poking his head up when Daichi turned away.

Nishinoya forgot about it once the match started, absorbed in diving for receives and sending the ball back to Kageyama. Nishinoya didn't think about it, not about how Kageyama was right next to him sometimes on the court, the one directly dependent on him for a clean save. It didn't come up until Kageyama received the ball himself, and Nishinoya was left as the only one who could handle the toss.

He reached the ball, finally, but it was still a horrible toss. Asahi couldn't hit it well, and it went out.

"The toss was too short! I'm so sorry! Goddamnit!" Nishinoya shoved his hands up in the air. 

"It was fine, though…"

"No it wasn't!" 

Nishinoya paced back with a frustrated huff. 

Kageyama watched him walk back with an excited glint. "I thought you did a good job." 

The ones who heard Kageyama swiveled their heads around. Nishinoya's mouth fell open.

"Was that a compliment?" Daichi asked in surprise. 

"Even if it was terrible, it was cool, Noya!" Tanaka lifted his hand for a high five. "You two switched like it was nothing!"

Tanaka had a point. Swapping roles like that was odd and impressive, especially for a split second decision to take over. Nishinoya's stomach felt light again, and he stomped away with his head ducked when Tsukishima gave a sarcastic clap.

After that, Kageyama quietly stepped away a bit, letting Nishinoya take tosses when there was no reason for them. Nishinoya gladly took them, but his face burned each time. His shoulders rose as he saw the growing understanding dawn on his teammates' faces, and even from the other team. 

It felt mortifying, like he couldn't breathe each time Kageyama gave him a look that said  _here, take my toss._ He didn't bother using a signal like a setter would with a spiker, and Yamaguchi pointing it out later left Tsukishima snorting and Tanaka guffawing with an arm over his eyes.

Suga tried to make a joke as well, asking Nishinoya if he was married yet, but it backfired when Nishinoya shot it right back at him and pointed at Daichi. Suga coughed and left him alone for a while.

 

* * *

 

On the last day of the camp, after the practice matches were over, the glorious barbecue was all that was left. Nishinoya tried to keep up with Taketora and Tanaka's well-intentioned antics, shooing people who came too close to Kiyoko, but after a few minutes, Tanaka pushed him away.

"You probably shouldn't be doing this," he said sagely. He gave a harsh nudge to Nishinoya's shoulders in the direction of Kageyama, where he was sitting on the grass next to Hinata. 

Taketora waved at him with a fake sniffle. "He's growing up."

"I really want to hit you two in the face." Nishinoya shoved Tanaka off of him. "Leave me alone."

They backed off but kept watching from a few feet away, which was a sort of compliment. Kiyoko was within gawking range, and they found thismore interesting.

Nishinoya still found that annoying. His mouth twitched in a barely contained line as he plopped down beside Hinata and Kageyama. 

Hinata's head jerked up. "Noya-senpai?" He squinted at Tanaka and Taketora in the distance, and they were making beckoning hand gestures and flailing their arms up. Nishinoya noticed it, his eyes narrowing, but Hinata took the bait and hopped to his feet.

"Where's Hinata going?" Kageyama asked.

Nishinoya shrugged, his head tucked down. "I don't know." He idly poked a chopstick at his second plate of food. 

Kageyama had his own meal, but he tapped his chopsticks against it instead of picking the meat up. "Daichi told me something earlier."

"…What. What'd he say?" Nishinoya doubted that he'd like to hear what Daichi did, but Kageyama's darting eyes forced him to listen. 

"He told me you liked someone." Now Kageyama was just tracing his chopsticks over the edge of the plate. His knees were pushed up into his chest, and he was wearing a self-conscious frown.

"Someone? He didn't say who?"

"No. But then Suga told me you were acting funny. And Tanaka said something, and Ennoshita, too. And--"

"Okay, I get it." Nishinoya dragged his hands across his face. "Everyone told you something."

"Nishinoya, are they right? They're not right, are they?"

Nishinoya gave a stiff nod. 

"Yes? To what?"

He just nodded again.

"Nishinoya, you need to say something," he snapped. 

Nishinoya folded in on himself, pressing his forehead into his arm. "I like you," he mumbled.

Kageyama shifted closer, and Nishinoya could feel him breathing on his shoulder. "What did you just say?"

He lifted his head to splutter, "I like you," loud enough for Kageyama to definitely hear, and then he leapt to his feet, knocking him over as he ran. Nishinoya sprinted past a startled Tanaka and Hinata, not stopping until he had to pause for breath.

 

* * *

 

Nishinoya managed to avoid him the rest of the day, up until the bus ride home. The team scrambled and shoved past him for a seat, and he didn't think anything of it. Just an odd eagerness to sleep on the bus. He took an empty seat in the back, slouching against the cushion and sinking down. 

Kageyama walked down the aisle after him, and Nishinoya remained silent with his eyes closed, arms folded behind his head, until he felt a weight drop on the seat next to him. When he opened his eyes lazily, he found Kageyama staring back at him.

"Wh- _what?!_ " He flinched to the side. "Why are you sitting here?"

"The other seats are taken." 

Nishinoya shot his head up to peer over, catching sight of a full bus. Hinata was sitting next to Tanaka, Ennoshita with Asahi, and everyone else in their usual pairs, their heads deliberately pointed away.

"I hate them all," Nishinoya muttered as he slid back down. The trip back to Miyagi was long, and he couldn't leave the seat. He was sitting in a bus full of sadistic traitors.

He sat with his hands clasped tightly together, rigid as if a shrill scream was ringing in his ear. Kageyama didn't try talking to him, and he didn't want to look to see what he was doing, so he stared at the seat in front of him instead. Nishinoya was so tightly wound that he didn't notice Kageyama's eyes falling closed, slipping to the side little by little until he collapsed against Nishinoya's shoulder.

Nishinoya jolted. Kageyama was tall, and he didn't fit on his shoulder completely. His head lolled over his, face flattening the top of Nishinoya's hair. He felt uncomfortable and warm, and when he tried to shift him back out of his comfort zone, Kageyama ended up sprawled out more. His arm dropped over Nishinoya's chest, making it impossible to move.

He gritted his teeth and slumped down in his seat. His head felt feverish, and Kageyama's deep breaths constantly brushing him against Nishinoya made it worse. 

A bright flash jerked them both up near the end of the ride. Tsukishima held a camera phone in his hand, two seats away, and Yamaguchi was chuckling to himself.

"Oh, my bad. I think I just took a picture," Tsukishima said loudly. He pocketed it with an unapologetic shrug.

"God, fuck off, Tsukishima." Kageyama rubbed his forehead and groaned. He turned to Nishinoya. "Was I asleep?"

"I was asleep, I wouldn't know," he lied. He gave a fake yawn and stretched his arms up. "We're almost home."

Kageyama fell quiet. Nishinoya trailed his gaze down, to the bottom of his shirt floating above his stomach. He tugged his shirt down with a stammer.

"Don't  _look."_

After Kageyama turned away, the two of them returned to their individual blushing silences. Nishinoya had himself squashed against the window already, and Kageyama's fidgeting brought him up to Nishinoya, pressing him against Kageyama's side. Kageyama's arm was out of the way, his hands around his knees, so Nishinoya really was digging into the side of his stomach. Nishinoya could feel his warmth through their clothes, soothing but still crushing him against the glass.

Nishinoya didn't mention that. He burrowed into him wordlessly, clenching Kageyama's shirt with both hands and leaning his head on them. He frowned to himself, his nose crinkling when Kageyama moved an arm around his shoulders but still quiet.

When the bus came to a stop in Karasuno's parking lot, Nishinoya stood up as fast as he could, flinging Kageyama's arm off.

He walked past the rows and stepped off the bus, almost the last person off. Kageyama was right behind him, and he flanked his side as they walked back to the group. Ukai gave them a brief talk, which was probably useless but Nishinoya didn't pay attention.

Once everyone started to leave, Nishinoya's hand shot out, grabbing Kageyama's hand as he walked by.

Nishinoya stared down. "I didn't meant to do that," he said quickly. He tried to tug away, but Kageyama tightened his grip. 

"I'm--"

"If you could just let--"

"You two are a bunch of idiots," Daichi snapped. They cringed away from each other at the growl in his voice, eyes wide. "Go to each other's houses, go to a movie, do  _something_ before Suga and I chain you together." 

Nishinoya nodded right away. "S-sorry, Daichi."

"I'll go to Nishinoya's house, then," Kageyama said. He bristled under Daichi's glare.

They walked away in a hurry, only slowing when Daichi could no longer see them.

"Are you really coming over?" Nishinoya asked. 

"I don't think I can lie to Daichi." 

"Right. Daichi." Nishinoya scratched his head. "That's why."

Nishinoya lived only a few blocks away from Karasuno, so they were at his front door in a short amount of time. It still felt like hours to them, though, neither of them speaking.

Nishinoya unlocked the door and stepped inside. "Mom? Is anyone here?"

He heard nothing. He felt like shriveling up and crumbling like a leaf, alone in a house with just Kageyama. 

Kageyama dropped his sports bag on the floor. He slipped his shoes off in the entryway and followed him in.

Nishinoya picked up a note off the dining room table and grimaced. His parents went out to his cousin's party, which he told them  _not_ to go to, they'd just complain about him not being there and come back late without any cake.

"My family's out." He squashed the note up in a ball and threw it in the trash. "Ugh…" 

Kageyama sat on the couch silently, without Nishinoya asking him if he wanted to do anything. Nishinoya poked his head out from behind the wall and spotted him pressing buttons on the TV remote.

Technically, Daichi just told him to visit his house, he didn't specify how long, but Nishinoya knew he'd get angry if they played stupid and did nothing. He sucked in a breath and walked over to the couch, throwing himself on the seat and burrowing his face in the cushion. Kageyama shook his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"'m fine," he said, muffled. Kageyama kept shaking him, though, pulling him over until he rolled on his side. Nishinoya bumped his back into Kageyama's side, and he tried to sit up, but Kageyama tried to move as well and Nishinoya ended up falling in his lap. 

"Ack, okay, don't move,  _I'll_ do it." He jerked his head up and crashed into Kageyama's chin, knocking his head back. He winced, realizing it was the first time he hit him in a couple weeks. "I'm sorry, here, I'll--"

His hands reached for his shoulders at the same time as Kageyama brought his head down, and his mouth landed in Nishinoya's hair. 

"Goddamnit," Kageyama muttered. He pulled back, and Nishinoya placed his hands on Kageyama's chest to push away.

Nishinoya didn't remove them. His hands felt glued to his shirt, and instead of retreating he slid them up. He stiffened, and his head shot up to glance at Kageyama's face, accidentally brushing their lips together.

Both of them froze. Neither of them moved, which was something Nishinoya didn't even consider, he just sat there, growing uncomfortably warm. 

Kageyama opened his mouth to talk and Nishinoya wanted to  _really_ hit him then, Kageyama was  _stupid_ and his surprised words were swallowed up when Nishinoya tensed and shivered and pressed back gently. His eyes shut, and he could barely understand what was happening, but Kageyama was kissing with as much hesitation as he was. Nishinoya straightened when he thought about that, and he pushed up, climbing more into his lap and kissing a little harder.

Kageyama reacted fast. He wrapped his arms around Nishinoya's back and squeezed him higher, shoving him into his chest. Kageyama was strong, and tall, and Nishinoya thought he'd hate that, but feeling small in his kouhai's arms also made him feel fuzzy.

Nishinoya's heart was pounding in his ear, and when he didn't think he could breathe, he made a strangled noise and pushed a loose fist into Kageyama's arm.

When they pulled apart, Nishinoya sunk back into his lap. Kageyama was red and breathing heavily, and Nishinoya knew he was just as bad. He slid into the back of the couch with an arm over his burning face.

Kageyama scooted closer. His mouth twitched, and after a few moments he brought himself to say, "Noya-senpai, can you…call me Tobio now?"

He buried his head in his knees. "I, ugh, f-fine, Tobio," he stuttered. He had  _never_ heard Kageyama call him senpai, that was mainly Hinata, and he was still light and breathless when Kageyama did it again. Kageyama kept asking him for the remote with an embarrassed smirk,  _What do you want to watch, Noya-senpai?_ and Nishinoya couldn't shut him up until he grabbed Kageyama's collar and kissed him again.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N that exists at the end of all my fics): I find unsolicited concrit really rude, I'm not looking for any. Please don't tell me someone was OOC/something happened you didn't like/it's too short/etc. in any bookmarks or comments.


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